2019 WHC Awards Presented at the WHC Conservation Conference
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 20, 2019 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) announced the winners of its 2019 WHC Awards at the 2019 WHC Conservation Conference, held November 19-20 in Baltimore. The WHC Awards honor excellence in corporate conservation; recipients include both national and international companies across a variety of industry sectors. This year’s top awards, signifying leadership in conservation, were won by Bayer, Waste Management and Koch.
“WHC members are environmental leaders at national and global levels, as evidenced by Bayer, Waste Management, Koch and all of our award winners,” said Margaret O’Gorman, President, WHC. “These outstanding projects and programs are prime examples of the positive influence and impact that corporate conservation can have on biodiversity, local communities and employees. This year 64 Silver and 44 Gold Programs were recognized as exceeding minimum requirements and being exceptional.”
Bayer received the 2019 Corporate Conservation Leadership Award. The Corporate Conservation Leadership Award honors one company’s overall achievement in conservation efforts, and signifies an exemplary level of corporate commitment to biodiversity and conservation education, and meaningful alignments with global conservation objectives.
The Employee Engagement Award, given to Waste Management, recognizes a company’s involvement in conservation through the sheer force of its employee teams who participate in its habitat and conservation education activities.
Koch received the Gold Tier Program Award for its conservation efforts at the Beaverhead Ranch near Yellowstone National Park in Montana. Koch was also awarded the Land Conservation Agreements Award for the same project.
The Gold Program Award honors the overall conservation depth of one exceptional program. Projects are recognized for excellence in each of the WHC Project Guidance themes. This category offers projects of all sizes the ability to compete for recognition. Learn more about the Project Award criteria here.
BP was the year’s most honored company, picking up four awards in the following categories: Invasive Species, Wetlands, Avian (BP, Warm Springs Ponds) and Mammals (BP, Dutchman).
The following is a complete list of 2019 Project Award winners:
- Avian: BP, Warm Springs Ponds
- Awareness and Community Engagement: Dow, Ward Hollow Wildlife Habitat
- Bats: Lafarge Canada, Onoway Wash Plant
- Forests: Covia, Planta San Juan
- Formal Learning: Freeport-McMoRan, Port Nickel
- Grasslands: FCA, Dundee Engine Plant
- Green Infrastructure: 3M, 3M Center
- Integrated Vegetation Management: Exelon, Pepco Transmission Right of Way
- Invasive Species: BP, Warm Springs Ponds
- Land Conservation: Koch Industries, Beaverhead Ranch
- Landscaped: Freeport-McMoRan, Miami
- Mammals: BP, Dutchman,
- Other Habitats: Vulcan Materials Company, Azusa Rock, East Side Reclamation Project
- Other Species: Ontario Power Generation, Wesleyville Creek Brook Trout Program
- Pollinator: Boeing, Emery Landfill – Wichita
- Reptiles and Amphibians: Dow, Ward Hollow Wildlife Habitat
- Training: Bayer, Chesterfield
- Wetlands: BP, Warm Springs Ponds
Award finalists and winners were chosen from Conservation Certification applications submitted from January 1, 2019 – August 1, 2019 that were granted certification. Applications received after August 1, 2019 and applications what were in the appeals process in 2019 will be considered for the 2020 WHC Awards. Information on award criteria can be found on our website.
About Wildlife Habitat Council
For 30 years, WHC has been promoting and certifying ecological stewardship action on corporate lands through partnerships and education. Since only 10-15% of the world’s land surface is protected, private lands provide an essential opportunity for restoring and protecting biodiversity. As the only international conservation NGO focused exclusively on the private sector, WHC provides a framework for voluntary conservation action on a wide variety of corporate lands. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations seeking to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. These efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 certified programs across 48 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and 29 countries. To learn more, visit www.wildlifehc.org or follow @WildlifeHC on Twitter.
